1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of leased computing and more specifically to securing leased resources on a computer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Some consumers want to have the ability to use additional computing resources when the need arises but don't want to incur the initial expense of buying the additional resources. Computing resources include hard drives, memory modules, server blades, whole servers, or the like. In order to meet this need, certain vendors offer computing equipment that come with additional resources that are priced based on usage. These vendors allow clients or customers to buy or lease a computer or server with regularly usable resources in addition to a set of leased resources for which the client pays based on use. When a client uses a leased resource, he is billed for what he uses in the same way water and electricity utility customers are. This model is referred to as “demand leased” computing. The computer or server in question is managed by the client and kept at the client's location. Non-leased resources on the computer are used without restriction by the client. When leased resources on the computer are used by the client, the vendor bills the client according to usage on a periodic basis, such as monthly.
Current demand leased computer units can be configured with additional leased resources which can be activated as required by a customer. Thus, additional disabled leased resources can be activated depending on increased resource demand or a need to meet growth patterns of an information technology (IT) infrastructure of a customer. When leased resources are activated the vendor of the leased resources charges the customer accordingly for his use. There currently is no method, however, for securing leased resources in this environment.
One approach to the problem of securing leased resources in a demand leased computer unit is through software measures. Software security measures, however, are much more easily defeated than hardware measures and can't be used at all in many circumstances. It is desirable for a demand leased provider to be able to control its leased resources before the customer activates them. If a vendor's control over leased resources is weak or non-existent, the customer could potentially use the resources without paying to have them activated. Furthermore, without an effective method to tie the operation of a leased resource to a single demand leased computer unit, a customer could possibly remove the leased resource from the demand leased computer unit and use it on another computer, such as a competitor's server, without paying for its use. A leased resource that is “hijacked” in this way can be used as a regular device by another server. Thus, there are currently few precautions for preventing leased resources in a demand leased computer unit from being recognized, configured, enabled and used without any restrictions.
Thus, the need arises to solve the problems with the prior art above and specifically for a more efficient way to secure leased resources in a demand leased computer unit.